By Our Reporter
Though the government has decided to replace all 20 year old vehicles in the Kathmandu valley from 28 February with the new vehicle, the new entrepreneurs have not been able to get permission from different syndicates to run their vehicles.
If such a trend will continue, only the old transportation entrepreneurs will be benefited from the new policy introduced by the government.
The entrepreneurs, by claiming the loss worth millions of rupees while replacing the old vehicles with the new one, are demanding compensation from the government.
Transportation Management Department, Bagmati Zone, has announced to facilitate the old transportation entrepreneurs by allowing the same route they were using in the past to the new vehicles they are going to introduce. This has barred new entrepreneurs in the business.The chronic syndicate system has again deeply rooted in the transportation sector.
Thereare a large number of vehicles running in the Valley roads which have already crossed 20 years, and some of them have even crossed 50 years, which are belonging to different syndicates/unions affiliated to different political parties. These unions are thus enjoying monopoly market under the protection of the political parties.
Four hundred and sixty five transportation committeeshave captured different routes inside the country.Though the government has registered the new companies in the same route, the old entrepreneurs, by demonstrating protest programmes and chhaka-jam, have not allowed the new entrepreneurs to run their vehicles.
It is learnt that these syndicates are collecting two hundred thousand to 1.5 million rupees as fee from each vehicle to get permission to use the route.